The Stolen Child Replies to the Fairy

[stakebait]

This poem was inspired by a Facebook post (by Leigh Grossman). Ah, brave new world, that makes me yell at Yeats.

If I should change, as I am called,
Forsake the dear hearth fire
And follow the glint of a will of the wisp
To wander in the mire
It will not be for dire hints
It will not be for fear
It will never be for the ghost of a host
of mysterious, unknown tears.

If I should come, as I am called
It will be of my will
To turn to something rich and strange
And dance under the hill
And drink the wine of starlight
Until I have my fill.

And no more hide my face at night
And no more bar the door
And no more flatter Goodly Folk
For fear they shall do more
Than twist my hair to elf-locks
So wicked and so wild
And no more leave cream by the door
Lest they should steal my child.

How should I not know weeping?
How should I not know fear?
When the days grow short and hungry
And the men go off to war
And the ma to the bed of a stranger
To keep the wolf from the door.
And the stranger comes to the hearthfire
No more a stranger he,
but a family man, she tells us,
who is no true kin to me.

The night is cold, but the poteen's strong
And it warms the red of his face
And his hot breath, and his hotter hands
As they keep me in my place
And she turns away, so she will not see
My tears steam in the cold.
And you tell me I don't understand?
I, who was born so old?

Go away, you spriggin,
You'll not steal the likes of me
For you come too late to save me --
It was always too late, you see.
That's what it means to be mortal
To feel full the well of tears
All we would need for a lifetime
Long before they're shed like years.

But I'll come to you some summer night
When I am a man grown
With a harp on my back
And a wanderer's pack
and a song to call my own
And when you are tired of dancing
You shall touch my wet cheeks with your hands
There's more beauty in all the world's weeping
Than you can understand.

Comments

[calligrafiti.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous!

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Thank you kindly!

[siderea]

Well done!

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Danke! Leigh had posted that his infant daughter was having none of The Stolen Child because she refused to believe the world was more full of weeping than she could understand and I thought you know what, she's got a point. It's pretty condescending when you think about it.

[lotusice.livejournal.com]

Oh, happy.

:D *wanders off grinning*

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*grins back* Glad you enjoyed it.

[genarti]

I am fond of the original, but I love this so much. Especially since that repetition of "the world's more full of weeping" was one part of the poem that always bugged me; said once, it's a lovely phrase, but it never felt to me to fit with the magic of the rest, especially if the child doesn't understand what he's supposed to be escaping. Either he understands it just fine, or he's got other reasons entirely, or both.

This is bitter and lovely.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm fond of the original as well, to tell the truth, and never once thought of this until Leigh brought it up. But once he did, even though he was mostly joking, it did bug me -- it works as a justification for the fairy, but not as a reason for the kid.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

I may have to do something else with this at some point... I have no idea what, but the image of dozens of fae crowded round a single mortal man, touching the tears on his cheeks and tasting them from their fingers, is sticking with me. Can't tell if it wants to go poignant or creepy, though. Wonder if I could manage both at once.

[genarti]

...Ooh. That is a powerful image, right there. It could definitely go either way -- or, as you say, both at once.

And a very cool follow-up to this poem, too.